Four in five Americans believe it is important for Harris and Trump to debate
Washington D.C., August 16, 2024 – A new Syracuse University/Ipsos American Identity poll finds that 78% of Americans believe it is important for there to be a televised debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, with a slim majority saying it is very important (53%). While a majority regardless of partisanship say it is important to have the debate, Republicans (88%) are more likely to share this viewpoint than Democrats (78%) and independents (75%).
Along these lines, if Trump chooses to skip a presidential debate, Americans are split on if it hurts (48%) or does not impact (45%) his candidacy. Of note, nearly two in five Republicans (38%) and half of independents (49%) believe dropping out of a debate hurts his candidacy.
The poll, which was conducted by Ipsos for the Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship, also finds that the choice of Governor Tim Walz as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee is seen as a net positive for Harris. Thirty-six percent agree her odds of winning have improved now that she has picked Walz, compared to 31% who disagree. In contrast, the choice of Senator JD Vance as the Republican vice-presidential nominee is seen as a net negative for Trump, with just 25% agreeing he improves Trump’s chances of winning, compared to 41% who disagree.
Lastly, a majority of Americans disagree that vice presidential picks have no impact on presidential elections (53%). In the same vein, nearly three in five Americans (58%) are likely to watch a televised debate between Vance and Walz, with Democrats and Republicans more likely than independents to tune in.
About the Study
This Syracuse University/Ipsos poll was conducted by Ipsos from August 9 to August 11, 2024, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,091 adults age 18 or older. The sample includes 326 Republicans, 335 Democrats, and 337 independents.
The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the U.S. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.
The study was conducted in English. The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. Party ID benchmarks are from the 2023 NPORS annual survey. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2023 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- Party ID (Democrat, Lean Democrat, Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Something else)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.12. For Republicans, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.6 percentage points, and the design effect is 1.07. For Democrats, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.7 percentage points, and the design effect is 1.14. For independents, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.7 percentage points, and the design effect is 1.12.
The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President, US Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
Mallory Newall
Vice President, US Public Affairs
+1 202 374-2613
About Ipsos
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